Bankruptcy with Joint loans

milkwood7

Hi

After years of fighting my debts and failed business ventures I have succeded in realising I have no other option, My debts are unsecured and amount to just under £70,000 this has built up over 13 years or so, I have been self employed since 2003, erratic income plus I dont have the discipline to put money away for a rainy day has led me to hell with creditors, most of my debts are on arrangements to pay where I pay £20 or so a month, this has been ok to a certain degree but its going nowhere.

My girlfriend of 5 years has been super understanding of my situation but she has now lost patience too, stupidly last year in my desperation i took out loans with wonga and 1 month loan, i couldnt pay them back so Itried arrangements but struggled with that, as of today 1 month loan is paid off as is wonga, unfortunately wonga had my card details and just kept taking funds in my account, including a PPI claim that I won.

My girlfriend found a bank statement of mine with all the wonga loans etc so she hit the roof as I did not tell her and lied to her about the extent of my recent debt, on top of this I stupidly took out a loan with amigo loans with my father as guarantor, this is £217 per month and its crippling me but I have to keep it up or my father gets the debt taken out of his account.

Another twist to my tale is I also have a loan from a old together mortgage from 2001 with my ex wife, her name is still on the loan and that is up to date too, so the only loans which are not in arrears are those 2.

My girlfriend has told me in the short term we have no future and that I need to sort myself out and she will see, i feel like im fighting a losing battle (we also have a child) she is moving back to her old house which she rents out and selling the one we live in, I am not on any of the deeds for the 2 properties. She needs space so I have to move out for a bit.

I need to sort my debt out as it looks like im losing my family, my debt is made up of 5 credit cards, 4 loans inc above, personal debt with friends (6k to my girlfriend, 7.5k to a friend and 12k to an old company I was contracted to) basically i was a self employed mortgage broker and I still do this now, i owe 12k to the old company in clawbacks of cancelled insurance policies that I sold, they are actively pushing me for repayment. all the other debts were made up of me using credit to live and then not repaying it back, last year I earned approx £8000 doing this plus I jumped from employed jobs from time to time to earn a more stable income, I am now in a job where i am employed and earn £1600 take home monthly but i cant keep up with everything, i dont have any money left over.

I need to go bankrupt, I have a few questions about the process, im really worried about how they percieve my debt? I have literally nothing to show for it?

I have no assets, mylast asset was my marital home which I was taken off the deeds in 2008, I have a car worth about £1000 and a laptop I paid £100 for on ebay for my mortgage work.

How do they look at my self employed income? one month its £1000 some months its nothing?

Do they need certified accounts from an accountant?

ANd my main concern is the process of the loans I have with my ex wife and my father, how will this be treated??

One of the businesses i started was a car sales yard, the £7500 debt to a friand is a motor trader who supplied me with cars, so my business account sometimes took in £20,000 or so a month when I was sellling a lot however most of the time £19900 usually went out to pay for debts etc!!

My girlfriend has offered to help with the £700 fee I just need to make sure I'm prepared thats all.

Sorry for the rambling, just feel like I need to give you as much info as I can, really scared right now.

easygoingchap

My advice is to write down all your outgoings from food, debt to haircuts then jot down your income. Make yourself a large mug of tea, find a quiet spot then call stepchange. They really helped me with a reasonable budget and will help you take the next step . There is an online tool you can use prior to the call if you wish then they have the figures infront of them. They really helped us

Flyright

Any joint loans will become the responsibility of the other party if you are declared bankrupt. Similarly your father will become liable for the loan repayment as guarantor if you are bankrupt. You must declare all your debts on the bankruptcy forms and you will not be allowed to continue making repayments to any of your creditors. If you were/are self employed you will be required to send your accounts to the Official Receiver.

tigerfeet2006

Your first port of call is a phone call to Business Debtline and get some free, impartial advice on your situation as a lot of your debt is business related.

http://www.bdl.org.uk/

All the debts will fall into your BR and you will no longer be responsible for them and cannot pay them without breaking the law. The other person will become solely responsible for paying the full loan.

The OR will most likely look at your income over a period of time and average it out to see whether an IPA needs to be implemented. Your accounts don't need to be certified but obviously if everything is up to date and together it will help the OR enormously in his investigations.

As a business debt you will also more than likely have a face to face interview with the OR as well.

Read the Look Here First sticky and the Bank Account sticky. Read as many threads as you can and ask as many questions as you need.

milkwood7

HI

Thanks for your replies, I did do the stepchange and it suggested IVA, I'm waiting for grant thornton to contact me on that however i'm inclined to go bankrupt, I am worried about the joint loans though, if I manage to get my father for example to take over the loan in his name will this cause an issue with the bankruptcy as it looks like I have paid off a loan in the last month or so?

Thanks

pauletruth

and how will you continue to work in the finance sector whilst bankrupt.

milkwood7

I cant, I have a job outside of the finance industry as I knew this would stop me working unfortunately.

makeyourdaddyproud

Sadly, you failed in the car sales game because you're too honest.

Action_Jackson

im really worried about how they perceive my debt? I have literally nothing to show for it?


I don't think the OR will perceive your debts as particularly 'bad'. Failed businesses and erratic income seem like a perfectly fair reason for going BR.

The type of thing they'll turn the thumbscrews for are:

- Disposing of assets at undervalue
(e.g. selling a £30k Porche to a mate for £5, hoping to get it back later)

- Gambling

- An extravagant lifestyle
(e.g. holidays in Barbados when you were already up to your ears in debt)

I know at the moment you feel like the OR will single you out for a good hiding, but I'm afraid to say your case and the amounts involved are pretty boring and small-fry compared to some :-)

Daniel_Iusha

If you are dealing with joint debts and only one person is declaring bankruptcy, the best thing to do is to let the bankruptcy trustee know which debts are joint. If you aren’t sure which debts are joint, get a free copy of your credit report or check with each of your creditors. Depending on your situation, the trustee may also refer you to a lawyer to help you sort out the legal aspects of your circumstances.